Hope Community Health Center will open its doors Friday on Derbyshire Road in Daytona Beach, providing free medical services to uninsured and homeless individuals in an area where 60 to 70 percent of residents lack health coverage. Dr. Mussarat Siddiqui, an anesthesiologist and former chief of staff at Edwin Hospital in Palm Coast, is leading the initiative alongside contractor Kal Fazal as they finalize preparations for the grand opening. The clinic, located at 825 Derbyshire Road adjacent to the Islamic Center, will operate on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The sign looks good, everything is great,” Siddiqui said. The not-for-profit organization has been funded by private donations totaling $250,000, including contributions from community doctors and the Siddiquis themselves. Plans are in place to establish an endowment fund to ensure the clinic’s sustainability, with Mussarat Siddiqui working to finalize the Hope Community Health Care Endowment.
“A lot of them are homeless, so we thought this is the right area because close to Islamic Center, so we decided to open here,” Siddiqui said. Dr. Rehana Siddiqui, a general practitioner who will be running the facility, said many people in the Derbyshire Road area have not seen a doctor in years. The clinic will provide general medical care, including family practice and screenings for hypertension and diabetes, with specialists available as needed.
“I think you treat the patient half [by] listening to them,” Rehana Siddiqui said. “If you listen to them, they know somebody is caring.” The clinic operates under strict state regulations that prohibit accepting insurance patients. “The stipulation by the state is we cannot take insurance patients. It has to be totally indigent,” Mussarat Siddiqui said.
“This is an examination room which is sponsored by husband and wife doctors,” Siddiqui said during preparations. The facility will serve as a general family medicine practice, not as an emergency room or trauma care facility, and is exclusively for indigent patients who meet income requirements. Rehana Siddiqui will lead daily operations alongside a volunteer staff of eight doctors and four nurse practitioners, plus trained reception staff.
The idea for the free clinic started in 2025 when Rehana Siddiqui was asked by the Islamic Center to pick a community project. Having worked at the Flagler Free Clinic for years, she immediately knew she wanted to help establish a free clinic in the community. The fundraising process required $280,000 to build out the clinic and organize staff, equipment and training.
“All this money came from our friends,” Mussarat Siddiqui said, noting that in 10 days he had raised a majority of the funds from pledges from fellow doctors and community members. The funding came from multiple backgrounds, not just the Muslim community, with people from various walks of life contributing to the cause. “Different people from different walks of life have come together to help us out, and they really understand the compassion we are coming with,” he said. “I’m very thankful.”
Although located next to the Islamic Center, the clinic operates independently and welcomes everyone who qualifies regardless of religious affiliation or race. “Our vision is serve the community, irrespective of religion, caste, creed, language and color,” Mussarat Siddiqui said. The clinic’s tagline reflects this approach: “Care with compassion and dignity.”
The Siddiquis have been practicing medicine in local communities since the 1980s, with Rehana Siddiqui volunteering at the Flagler Free Clinic alongside her private practice work. Mussarat Siddiqui previously served as Advent Health Palm Coast Hospital’s chief of staff. Both are now retired but continue working part time in their respective fields.
“In free clinic [work], you have to use clinical judgement,” Rehana Siddiqui said, instead of relying on referrals and technology. “And I think it makes you a better doctor.” For Mussarat Siddiqui, opening the clinic represents a heartfelt endeavor inspired by his mother’s passion for medicine. “When you can, serve the community and take care of the poor,” he said.
Future plans include establishing a dental clinic and a food bank to expand services for the underserved community. The clinic will not have any cash or narcotics on hand but will be able to refer patients in need of more specialized care to appropriate offices. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hope Community Health Center is scheduled for Friday, March 27, at 2:30 p.m. on Derbyshire Road, with doors opening for operation at 9 a.m. on March 28.